Are We Model Hoarders?

[Danno]

This is just an example of my 71-72 Demon Stash ...

Steve,

I don't think you qualify as a 'hoarder' ~~~ but you clearly have a very serious case of DDA!!

Duster Demon Addiction!

Did Chrysler even build that many 1:1's?

[niteowl7710]

Well in all fairness those Hoarding shows (there are two of them), aren't going to send a camera crew over to a house that has a whole load of something, but neatly organized. Not every hoarder has the inability to walk through the house for the fear of being crushed by trash and debris with 6 feet of animal feces on the floor situation. The people they show on there have more than one mental illness, or have suffered traumatic life experiences they never fully dealt with professionally. Lot of those poor souls have OCD, Schizophrenia, Agoraphobia, and other conditions that exaggerate their hoarding issues.

I prefer to think of myself as a collector with intent! As I intend to build those model kits that I have purchased and/or traded for over the years. My wife says I just buy things to look at them, and I never build anything, but at the same time I try not to build stuff when she's conscious and at home because I would rather spend time with her than alone in the basement (insert your new marriage jokes here). I have almost doubled my stash since I actively started building again, and joined this motley band of misfits. I alone bought more models than Donald has in his stash over a two week period in March at a pair of shows. Because I wanted them, and because I can. I have a baby coming in July, and I know that's going to eat up my available income, so spend it now while I still can I don't believe I have hoarding simply because I can go into a LHS and leave without buying more than just the paint I went in there for in the first place. You can put me in a hobby show stocked with vendors, and unless there is something there that just really rings my bell in a "NEED THAT NEED THAT NEED THAT" sorta way I can leave having only spent $3 for admission. There's only one RoG kit at my LHS that has been clanging said bell that last few visits and I will probably heed it's tolling next time I go since my vendor guy I deal with says he can't order anymore, and I hate overpaying on eBay. Then I am done...until Revell kicks out the modern day pony cars they promised(the new Mustangs and Camaro kits), and the Hudson, C-300 and Lonestar from Moebius hit the shelves. I think that rationalization and ability to not buy is the thin tenuous line between collecting things you like and hoarding.

Will I build them all before I go? I dunno I'm gonna be 33 in July, but really who can ever tell if their life is at the end of their run? All the people in my family have lived to ripe old ages, but several of them probably don't remember the last 10 years (gotta say I hope we figure out the dementia thing by the time I'm old enough to not remember I have it), and of course that doesn't factor in the ones who died in accidents, and the one who committed suicide by walking in front of a train. You could drop dead of a heart attack at 18, or live to be 110, you just never know. Being the only species that is self-aware of it's end is a problem too, but that's another thread.

Edited March 29, 2011 by niteowl7710

[robertw]

I have two large double closets full of kits, an attic full and an 8x10 shed full to the rafters. In all far more then I can build in the lifetime left to me. While I've slowed down my buying in the last couple of years I haven't and won't completely quit buying more.

Does that make me a hoarder or collector or is the difference between these two words just a matter of semantics. While the former has been given the status of someone with some kind of problem the term collector still suggests someone with a sincere interest in what we are collecting. One could even suggest that as soon as a kit is built it is no longer a collectible and when you see how hoarders seem to treat what they have gathered that doesn't seem like any modeller I know.

I've come to a revelation, I'm neither! I'm just a model builder who still has a lot of kits to build, perhaps more then I have time to build but that's just a miscalculation on my part.

robw

[DanielG]

I have somewhere between 10 and 20, some complete and some already looted for parts!

[David@MinidreamsInc.]

Well my response to this based on my own stash is I AM NOT ! I am however a builder so if its in my stash i will either builder it or part it out ! Some are just out to grab what ever they can afford with no means of building so them i would call the HOARDERS !

Like my sig says fellas LETS BUILD UM NOT SHADOW THEM !

[Eshaver]

As for me "Hoarding ", I dunno............Hey ,I got a lot of kits , many waiting a chance to get built . However , I build kits to act as "Supporting cast " members in my service stations . Each station generally holds about 9-10 cars/ trucks . Im branching out to include a couple of resturants too. They will include a dozen cars , bikes and trucks . Ed Shaver

[brett]

around 90% of what I buy is for a specific 1:1 that I want to capture the look of (more so than replicate). The other 10% are usually to good of a deal to pass up though in saying that it still has to be something that interests me.Now I have around 250 kits, built 25 last year , working on the 6th so far this year so would theoretically have about 10 years of building left if I didnt replace each built with at least one sometimes 2 more kits. I'm only 42 (though I feel much older) so I dont really think I'm hoarding or collecting. I can walk into the hobby shop and not buy anything, but that maybe more because of limited stock and unlimited prices .

[mikemodeler]

Despite my 300+ kits, I would not classify myself as a hoarder but my wife would!

My kits are stored neatly and the finished ones are in a display case. I think that as long as I intend to build them, then I am not hoarding them. I have been known to buy a kit just for some parts with no intention to build the kit. It is those kits that I am willing to part out if someone needs something from them.

[LAone]

my wife once said i was a hoarder in denial. then i said to her "well hun, so are you with your collection of purses" since that day, it's been like, "if you want it and have the money to buy it, then do it if it makes you happy" wow i thought it was a lie, now at around 30+ kits in my stash and counting. she still hasn't told me to stop.

i see it more like this. we are collectors with intentions to build, sell, trade or even give out as a gift. some kits i have had for about 10 years now, not long for most. there are kits in my stash that would never trade, but if the day came that i had to sell them, i would.

ill be leaving a price for every kit for my wife to sell if paydirt comes some day. even if im only turning 30 in may, you never know right??

i have the intention of building all of my kits. no matter the rarity of them, they will get built by either me or either/both of my kids if they wish to do so.

[highway]

Despite my 300+ kits, I would not classify myself as a hoarder but my wife would!

That's funny, my better half always tells me she feels like we live in a hobby shop! What's wrong with that!?!?

[2000-cvpi]

After some thought about this topic, I have concluded that I buy kits when I can because in twenty or thirty years there may not be any new models coming out. In thirty years I will only be sixty. So hopefully I will still be around and able to build. I do think that at some point I will reach the maximum number of boxed kits that my wife will tolerate in the house. When that happens I will move them to the garage.

[Evil Appetite]

I only got back into the hobby 4-5 years ago, and have close to 3000 kits in my collection. I couldnt stop buying them for a good 3 years. Seeing I was out for so long, i bought every one that interested me,( which was...every damned kit on the shelf) from Hobby Depot and eBay, as well as a few sellers I came across while searching the net for MPC's 1/20 scale Saber Vette. If the kit I chose to buy that day was a 2 or 3 in 1..you can bet I bought 1 or 2 more just in case I wanted to build the options. I was pretty sure I was done buying kits , then R2 announced they'd be releasing alot of old AMT/MPC kits, now, I'm spending cash on those! Bought 6 copies of the 66 PS Nova the day it came out! And I'm not done with them! I contacted them and asked if they plan on releasing any of the old MPC Pro Stock kits and yes, those are probably coming out next year. My best friend gives me ###### all the time, last week he saw me come home with 12 of Lindbergs Dodge Charger SRT8 Super Bee kit. Hell, i couldnt pass it up, $10 per kit. Could you!? Also, I decided to box up a few hundred kits, and sell'em, we all know I'm not gonna build'em in this lifetime....but I cant bring myself to place the ad!

Well, it could be alot worse, this could be the 80's/90's, and I could be spending my money at the local Metal bar every night! \m/

Now, I'm gonna check out what Dennis has over at Model Express!

--- Mike

and Yes..I do build the occasional model!

Edited March 29, 2011 by Evil Appetite

[Monte's Motors]

Model hoader would be someone with over 300 unbuilt kits AND have 20 kits that 3 are the same and unbuilt.

That's not me. Models are for building, not looking at the outside of a box or hidden away and forgotten what's there.

Edited March 29, 2011 by Monte's Motors

[shatteredsoul76]

I would call myself space challenged. I dont have a good dedicated place in the house where I could work on a build without having to put everything back up at the end of the day to keep clutter down and also keep anything from getting damaged from our 3 dogs and 2 cats in the house. This has really hindered the two builds Im currently working on, however that is finally changing.

I almost have my 10'x20' building all set-up where I can do my models and not worry about spilling paint or putting everything back up and Im the only one in there so it will stay as I left it without the critters running around possibly breaking things. I have to install a window for my A/C and put my work bench together when it gets here and I will be ready to rock on some models. Of course now that I will have all this dedicated space will I keep my stash to only 25 kits or run out and buy 2,500 more kits? Hmmm.. even if I did I still dont think I would be a hoarder! HAPPY MODELING

[Guest Johnny]

I don't think most modelers are hoarders as defined on the A&E program of the same name, i.e., people who hang onto things that are of little to no value, even though they may be unsanitary. There's a vast gulf of difference between having a large model car collection and, like one woman on the show, having two years' worth of used adult diapers piled up in your house, or, like another woman, a refrigerator filled with expired, rotting food because you just can't bear to throw anything away.

As the show has also illustrated, one of the reasons true hoarders have difficulty getting rid of things is that they develop emotional attachments to them. Speaking for myself only, that's not the case with me any my models. I'm pretty mercenary and will gladly flip a few kits on eBay or at a swap meet for some quick cash!

You are absolutely right Ken! I have seen this first hand having a sister that is a hoarder! We have cleaned up her place 3 times and now have just given up as each time she filled the place up faster than the last time!

All her husband says is "well, it's her house".

[peter31a]

I have to admit to hoarding including having multiples of some kits especcially A's, T's, 28/29 Lincolns and 32 Fords. Probably well over 400 + and well as numerous resin kits. "Hi! My name is Peter and this is my first Model Car Kits Anonymous meeting. I was referred by my friend Bill Eh? I admit to being a kit hoarder. I can't stop buying. I get so many neat ideas." Group: "Hi Peter!"

[RodneyBad]

Mmmm,

A hoarder? No.

I've seen the show Hoarders, I can still walk around my room and not on top of anything.

It is all confined in one room (sort've)

A Historian? Maybe.

Collector, No because I do build.

Finish? That is a whole nother story

I'm not out cruisin Bars, drinking, Gambling, or Causing trouble.

My money is my money and her money is her money.

All bills are paid.

She will always be able to find me (not a good thing all the time tho )

There was a time I couldn't afford much and told by my folks to grow up or I'll grow out of it.

I love to show my folks my Hobby room now

[CAL]

No hording here. I only have 400+ kits. I knew some one with 3,800 kits, which I kind of class that as hording.

[mikemodeler]

Mmmm,

A hoarder? No.

I've seen the show Hoarders, I can still walk around my room and not on top of anything.

It is all confined in one room (sort've)

A Historian? Maybe.

Collector, No because I do build.

Finish? That is a whole nother story

I'm not out cruisin Bars, drinking, Gambling, or Causing trouble.

My money is my money and her money is her money.

All bills are paid.

She will always be able to find me (not a good thing all the time tho )

There was a time I couldn't afford much and told by my folks to grow up or I'll grow out of it.

The one thing my wife does get about this hobby is that I could be spending as much or more at poker night, bowling night or hanging at the bar getting drunk.

Whenever I do get the occasional time at the hobby desk, she will inquire about the car I am working on, not that she knows the difference between a '57 Black Widow and a '32 5 Window

[Modelmartin]

I can't watch that show for more than a few minutes because I know some people who are hoarders. It is just too sad. If not for my mom my late dad would have completely spiraled out of control. The way it was it took two years to clean up all the useless ###### he accumulated over a lifetime. I know a few model guys who do qualify as hoarders because they do things like buy more kits when the heat and water bills are unpaid! These guys are trying to fill an emotional hole in their lives.

I know other guys who have lots and lots of models but have them nicely arranged and their lives are going well! I call them enthusiastic - probably a little neurotic but what the hey! They put the fun in dysfunction!

As for myself I probably had about 800 kits in my 20s but got rid of lots of them in the 80s. In the 90s and 00s I bought more here and there. About 3 years ago at a model car club meeting someone asked how many kits most of us had. I didn't know how many I had! I went home and counted. I had 600. I instantly decided to start thinning out and here is my reasoning. I know all about the math part (kits divided by years to live) and that isn't it.

I have many kits that are just fantastic kits, some with lots of great accessory parts and detail sets, etc. I also have a handful of cars I want to semi-scratchbuild or scratchbuild. Most of those 600 kits are a distraction and why would I possibly build something that isn't as awesome as the really cool kits I have. It's the distraction from what I really want to accomplish with my modelbuilding that motivated me to divest. I have sold off a lot of kits since that day and continue to move them out. I don't miss any of the kits that went out the door. I wouldn't mind getting down to about a hundred or even less.

One advantage of having sold off so many kits and many were great kits is that I am no longer tempted to pick up more. Why would I buy something ho-hum because it is cheap? I just got rid of twenty kits that were way cooler and I still have a hundred kits that even cooler than that.

But there is one kit that I won't sell. It is the first kit I bought with the intention of saving. I was 14 and the coolest kit to my mind back then was the Jo-Han Sox & Martin Cuda. I still have it and it is still shrinkwrapped! I am 54 now!

[Iron Fist]

I have to ask, why do you guys collect so many models? you will never be able to build them all. Currently I have two on the go and two waiting to be built, thats the most I have ever had at any one time.

[GHoneycutt]

YES!

[Keef]

im not a hoarder, im a purveyor of fine unfinished but half started styrene toys requiring finished assembly

[kitbash1]

Are we Hoarders? I consider myself a Collector more than a Hoarder. Hoarders amass useless ###### and garbage, as in stuff they take from others trash cans and from inside of dumpsters. My model collection ranges from 1/43rd scale to 1/8th scale. I have ( at last count ) over 3900 kits. Some are in storeage boxes, others are on shelves and in closets in my hobby room and basement. I will build some, sell or trade some and others I will not build. But, I will enjoy them all. I enjoyed finding kits from my childhood, and finding that rare kit at a fleamarket or a yard sale.

My name is Douglas, and I am a Builder and Collector of models. I am not a Hoarder.

Edited April 2, 2011 by kitbash1

[Mark Brown]

I have to ask, why do you guys collect so many models? you will never be able to build them all. Currently I have two on the go and two waiting to be built, thats the most I have ever had at any one time.

Let me ask you - how long have you been building? For me, part of it is time - I've been building for over 40 years and I don't throw anything away, so I've accumulated a lot of stuff just because of that.

Another part of it, for me, is how I build. A typical project of mine might involve parts from a dozen different models. I never build anything from the box, and rarely even close to that. I won't build all of those kits, but they're all potential sources for parts.

Another big factor has been mentioned....over time, I've missed out on many kits because I didn't grab one while they were available. Once I got to the position in life where I could buy them as I wished, I started getting them while the getting was good, in case I never got the opportunity again.